Heavy industrial machines including farm application systems are typically very large machines which operate under heavy loads. Such machines are typically constructed and assembled via separate subassemblies. One such subassembly is the motor which includes a front mounted fan for certain operation requirements. An additional subassembly is the radiator/cooling assembly. Both of these subassemblies are intended to be mated such that the fan facilitates in drawing air through the radiator assembly for facilitating in the cooling of the engine. Additionally, it is common to include a fan shroud which is part of the radiator/cooling assembly and which is intended for surrounding the fan for increasing the efficiency and reducing the sound of the operation of the fan.
A critical feature of the manufacturing of these subassemblies including the fan shroud is the tolerances which must be observed in the manufacturing. In order to maximize the performance of the fan, it is desirable to have the fan mounted very precisely within the shroud. However, it is typical to have the shroud fixedly attached to the radiator/cooling assembly. Consequently, if either the radiator/cooling subassembly or engine assembly are slightly off-centered on the chassis of the machine, it is extremely difficult to mate the fan within the shroud under the necessary tolerances.
Such tolerances are critical to the performance and reliability of the machine. Not only does the shroud facilitate in improving the fan's efficiency, but the clearance between the shroud and fan is necessary to compensate for any movement of the engine which may occur during operation of the machine. Since the fan is connected to the engine, movement of the engine results in relative movement of the fan blade relative to the shroud. Consequently, interference may exist which will damage the fan blades.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,893 provides one solution to integrating the respective subassemblies. However, such a design while suitable for its intended purpose utilizes one set of hardware to accomplish vertical adjustability and another complete set of hardware and a second plane of sheet material to accomplish horizontal adjustability. While such a design may work sufficiently, it appears to be complex and cumbersome for an installer to perform during manufacturing of the machine, and also would most likely be expensive to build.
Accordingly, there is a need to ensure that the fan is mounted accurately within the shroud during manufacturing utilizing a simple system which facilitates the ease of assembly for an installer during the manufacturing process and also requires limited parts to limit costs. The present invention is directed to overcoming problems associated with mounting the fan blades with respect to the shroud.